In Siem Reap our ears filled with sounds of crickets and of those asking for help. It’s unfortunate to see the constant flow of people and children coming up to you asking for money or food. Even if you’re sitting at a restaurant eating a meal, they will stand at your table and wait. Even the tuk tuk drivers are relentlessly offering rides and opium. And I thought we got a lot of that in Bangkok! Of course it is understandable in a country with more poverty than we are always used to, I just find I am never quite sure how to manage; I want to share assistance where I can, but then am unsure of the damage I could be causing by supporting this type of work in young children.
Interestingly though, Siem Reap is the most prosperous city in Cambodia due to the yearly influx of tourists coming to see Angkor Wat.
Anyways, tonight was our last night in Cambodia so we decided to visit some of the bars on pub street! Sharing a girly cocktail pitcher got us a free t-shirt at the Temple Club. After the 3rd power outage in 1.5 hours (haha), we decided to change scenes and cross the street to the Angkor What? club.
We also enjoyed two tasty specialty Cambodian meals, Amok and Khmer Curry:
With slightly different kitchen standards than our own:
Being here for just a few days has made me want to see more of Cambodia! Siem Reap is obviously quite touristy, but the glimpses you get into Cambodian culture are intriguing. People are saddened by their past and for their reputation of violence and land mines; thus they seem welcoming and happy to see increasing amounts of visitors to their country.
I look forward to returning again for a more thorough visit!
